Granular composition comprising dietary fibers derived from green tea and method for preparing the same

ABSTRACT

A granular composition containing dietary fibers derived from green tea and a method for preparing the same are provided. The granular composition may be prepared into granules, which has a suitable size and a shape to eat, using processed green tea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of 70% by weight or more; and a sugar alcohol as raw materials. The granular composition may also be useful in solving the problems such as dust scattering, throat choking, and the like due to the good flowability of the granules, and useful in manufacturing articles because the granular composition is easy to quantify due to the good filling properties.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 2018-0132205, filed Oct. 31, 2018, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a granular composition comprisingdietary fibers derived from green tea and a method for preparing thesame.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Dietary fibers are components rich in foods, for example, vegetables,fruits, algae, and the like, and are high-molecular carbohydrates thatare excreted from the human body without being digested by humandigestive enzymes. Owing to such characteristics of the dietary fibers,the dietary fibers are recently known to have excellent functions asprebiotics that affect the enterobacteria to inhibit the growth ofpathogens and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. In addition,when one eats a sufficient amount of the dietary fibers, the dietaryfibers give a feeling of fullness while inhibiting digestion andabsorption of other nutrients. Therefore, the dietary fibers are knownto have a number of very beneficial functions to the human body bycontrolling overeating, promoting defecation, and excreting toxicsubstances such as cholesterol and heavy metals, and the like.

However, when the dietary fibers are ingested in the form of powder,they have poor preference and convenience in eating, for examples,staleness, food jamming between teeth, dust scattering, and the like dueto the characteristics of tough and coarse particles. Also, the powderswhich are not in the form of particles have a drawback in that it isdifficult to package and fill products due to poor flowability.

Accordingly, there is a need for development of a granular foodcomposition, which has excellent preference as well as the conveniencein eating and holding, using a raw material that may be prepared intoshapes easy to eat high-content dietary fibers.

PRIOR-ART DOCUMENTS Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Publication No. 2006-0133050

Patent Document 2; Korean Patent Publication No. 2018-0016818

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above problems, the present inventors have prepared agranular composition using processed green tea having an insolubledietary fiber content of 70% by weight or more; and a sugar alcohol, andfound that the granular composition has little scattered dust due togood flowability, is not stuck to teeth during the food intake, has animproved throat choking phenomenon, and is also favorable formanufacturing articles due to the good filling properties.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a granularcomposition comprising insoluble dietary fibers derived from green tea,which has good flowability, and a method for preparing the same.

To achieve the objects, according to one aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a granular composition including processedgreen tea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of 70% by weight ormore; and a sugar alcohol.

The content of insoluble dietary fibers included in the processed greentea may be greater than or equal to 90% by weight.

The granular composition may include 50 to 85% by weight of theprocessed green tea and 15 to 85% by weight of the sugar alcohol.

The sugar alcohol may include one or more selected from the groupconsisting of xylitol, erythritol, isomalt, maltitol, sorbitol,mannitol, lactitol, and mannitol.

The granular composition may have a particle size of 0.5 to 2 mm.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forpreparing a granular composition, which includes: (a) sequentiallyextracting green tea with spirits and purified water to prepareprocessed green tea having a dietary fiber content of 70% by weight ormore; and (b) mixing the processed green tea and a sugar alcohol andthen extrusion-molding the resulting mixture.

In the method for preparing a granular composition, the step (a) mayinclude the following steps (a1) to (a5):

(a1) primarily extracting the green tea with spirits and secondarilyextracting the green tea with purified water;

(a2) extracting a green tea residue remaining after the primary andsecondary extractions in the step (a1) with an alkali;

(a3) subjecting the alkali extract obtained in the step (a2) tosolid-liquid separation to remove an alkali extract solution and addingan acid to the remaining solid alkali extract to neutralize the solidalkali extract; and

(a4) subjecting the acid extract neutralized in the step (a3) tosolid-liquid separation to remove an acid extract solution and washingthe remaining solid acid extract; and

(a5) drying and pulverizing the solid extract obtained after the step(a4) to prepare processed green tea.

In the method for preparing a granular composition, the step (b) mayinclude the following steps (b1) to (b3):

(b1) pulverizing the processed green tea and the sugar alcohol to form apowder raw material having a size of 80 meshes or less;

(b2) adding a binding solution to the powder raw material so that thebinding solution is mixed with the powder raw material; and

(b3) subjecting the mixture obtained in the step (b2) to extrusionmolding to form granules.

The binding solution may include one or more selected from the groupconsisting of purified water, spirits, and hydrocolloids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with referenceto the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an image (left panel) of a granular composition of Example2 during extrusion molding and an image (right panel) of theextrusion-molded granular composition; and

FIG. 2 shows an image (left panel) of a granular composition ofComparative Example 2 during extrusion molding and an image (rightpanel) of the extrusion-molded granular composition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detailso that a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the presentinvention belongs can easily put the invention into practice. However,it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied invarious forms and is not limited to the Examples described herein.

Granular Composition Including Dietary Fibers Derived from Green Tea

The present invention relates to a granular composition includingdietary fibers derived from green tea, and more particularly, to agranular composition including processed green tea having an insolubledietary fiber content of 70% by weight or more; and a sugar alcohol.

In the present invention, the processed green tea is green tea in whicha content of insoluble dietary fibers increases by removing catechin,water-soluble dietary fibers, proteins, caffeine, and other impurities,all of which are included in the green tea, by means of an extractionprocess using the green tea as a raw material.

The content of the insoluble dietary fibers included in the processedgreen tea may be greater than or equal to 70% by weight, and preferably90% by weight. When the content of the insoluble dietary fibers is lessthan this content range, it is difficult to form granules having ahigher content of the dietary fibers in the granular composition, andthe green tea may have a poor affective quality due to its innate bitterand astringent tastes. Also, the content of the insoluble dietary fibersincluded in the processed green tea may be less than or equal to 95% byweight in consideration of the content of moisture.

Also, the processed green tea may be included at a content of 50 to 85%by weight, preferably 55 to 85% by weight, and more preferably 60 to 85%by weight, based on the total weight of the granular composition. Whenthe content of the processed green tea is less than this content range,the content of the insoluble dietary fibers may be reduced with respectto the total weight of the granular composition, which makes it possibleto deteriorate positive functional effects of the dietary fibers uponthe intake. On the other hand, when the content of the processed greentea is greater than this content range, a composition having a granularshape may not be easily formed.

In the present invention, the sugar alcohol may be mixed with theprocessed green tea as described above to become a raw material for thecomposition having a granular shape.

The sugar alcohol may include one or more selected from the groupconsisting of xylitol, erythritol, isomalt, maltitol, sorbitol,mannitol, lactitol, and mannitol. Preferably, the sugar alcohol mayinclude xylitol, erythritol, and a mixture thereof.

Also, the sugar alcohol may be included at a content of 15 to 50% byweight, preferably 15 to 45% by weight, and more preferably 15 to 40% byweight, based on the total weight of the granular composition. When thecontent of the sugar alcohol is less than this content range, it isimpossible to easily form granules, which makes it difficult to preparea granular composition. On the other hand, when the content of the sugaralcohol is greater than this content range, a health functional effectof the dietary fibers may be degraded due to a decrease in content ofthe dietary fibers in the granular composition.

In the present invention, the granular composition may have a particlesize of 0.5 to 2, Φ preferably 0.8 to 1.8, Φ and more preferably 1 to1.5 Φ. When the particle size of the granular composition is less thanthis size range, dust scattering may occur. On the other hand, when theparticle size of the granular composition is greater than this sizerange, an increase in particle size may be caused, thereby giving aresidual feeling in the mouth, food jamming between teeth, and the likeafter the food intake.

In the present invention, a natural carbohydrate and/or a sweeteningagent may be used as an additive(s) that may be further included in thegranular composition.

Examples of the aforementioned natural carbohydrate includemonosaccharides, for example, glucose, fructose, and the like;disaccharides, for example maltose, sucrose, and the like; andpolysaccharides, for example, conventional sugars such as dextrin,cyclodextrin, and the like, and sugar alcohols such as xylitol,sorbitol, erythritol, and the like. Natural sweetening agents(thaumatin, a stevia extract (for example, rebaudioside A, glycyrrhizin,and the like)), and synthetic sweetening agents (saccharin, aspartame,and the like) may be favorably used as the sweetening agent.

In addition to the aforementioned components, the granular compositionof the present invention may contain various nutrients, vitamins,minerals (electrolytes), a flavoring agent (such as synthetic andnatural flavoring agents), a coloring agent and a filler (cheese,chocolate, and the like), pectic acid and salts thereof, alginic acidand salts thereof, organic acid, a protective colloidal thickeningagent, a pH control agent, a stabilizing agent, a preservative,glycerin, an alcohol, a carbonizing agent used for carbonated drinks,and the like.

Specific examples of the carrier, the excipient, the diluent and theadditive are not limited, but one or more selected from the groupconsisting of lactose, dextrose, sucrose, sorbitol, mannitol,erythritol, starch, acacia gum, calcium phosphate, alginate, gelatin,calcium phosphate, calcium silicate, microcrystalline cellulose,polyvinyl pyrrolidone, cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, methylcellulose, water, sugar syrup, methyl cellulose, methyl hydroxybenzoate,propyl hydroxybenzoate, talc, magnesium stearate, and mineral oil arepreferably used.

Method for Preparing Granular Composition including Dietary FibersDerived from Green Tea

Also, the present invention relates to a method for preparing a granularcomposition including dietary fibers derived from green tea. Here, themethod for preparing a granular composition may include (a) sequentiallyextracting green tea with spirits and purified water to prepareprocessed green tea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of 70% byweight or more; and (b) mixing the processed green tea with a sugaralcohol and extrusion molding the resulting mixture.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in further detailwith reference to the respective steps.

In the present invention, the step (a) includes preparing processedgreen tea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of 70% by weight ormore. Specifically, the step (a) includes a process further divided intothe following steps (a1) to (a5):

(a1) primarily extracting green tea with spirits and secondarilyextracting the remaining residue with purified water;

(a2) extracting a green tea residue remaining after the primary andsecondary extractions in the step (a1) with an alkali;

(a3) subjecting the alkali extract obtained in the step (a2) tosolid-liquid separation to remove an alkali extract solution and addingan acid to the remaining solid alkali extract to neutralize the solidalkali extract; and

(a4) subjecting the acid extract neutralized in the step (a3) tosolid-liquid separation to remove an acid extract solution and washingthe remaining solid acid extract; and

(a5) drying and pulverizing the solid extract obtained after the step(a4) to prepare processed green tea.

In the step (a1), after the green tea is primarily extracted withspirits, the remaining green tea residue may be secondarily extractedwith purified water.

The primary extraction may be a process of removing catechin from thegreen tea. In this case, the green tea may be green tea leaves, and thespirits may be 70% spirits.

Also, the primary extraction may be performed at a temperature of 60 to80° C. for 0.5 to 2 hours, and preferably performed at a temperature of65 to 75° C. for 0.5 to 1.5 hours. Upon the primary extraction, thetemperature and time are the optimal temperature and time at whichcatechin may be removed from the green tea. When the temperature andtime are less than these ranges, a desired level of catechin may not beremoved. On the other hand, when the temperature and time are greaterthan these ranges, the active ingredients included in the green tea maybe denatured. Also, the catechin may be removed together withchlorophyll, caffeine, and other impurities.

The secondary extraction may be a process of removing water-solublesubstances from the primarily extracted green tea. In this case, thewater-soluble substances may refer to water-soluble dietary fibers andsugars.

Also, the secondary extraction may be performed at 80 to 100° C. for 2to 4 hours, and preferably performed at 85 to 95° C. for 2.5 to 3.5hours. Upon the secondary extraction, the temperature and time are theoptimal temperature and time at which only the water-soluble substancesmay be removed from the primarily extracted green tea. When thetemperature and time are less than these ranges, a desired level of thewater-soluble substances may not be removed. On the other hand, when thetemperature and time are greater than these ranges, the activeingredients included in the green tea may be denatured.

As such, after the green tea is subjected to the primary and secondaryextractions, the green tea residue obtained by sequentially removingcatechin and the water-soluble substances from the green tea may beobtained.

In the step (a2), the green tea residue remaining after the primary andsecondary extractions in the step (a1) may be extracted by immersing thegreen tea residue in an alkaline solution.

In this case, the alkali used during the extraction with the alkali mayinclude one or more selected from the group consisting of sodiumhydroxide, potassium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, magnesium oxide,calcium oxide, and sodium bicarbonate. Preferably, the alkali may be anaqueous solution of 0.5 to 5% alkali in consideration of the efficiencyof selective removal of the proteins included in the green tea residue.

Also, the extraction with the alkali may be performed at a temperatureof 80 to 100° C. for 1 to 3 hours, and preferably performed at atemperature of 85 to 95° C. for 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Upon the extractionwith the alkali, the temperature and time are the optimal temperatureand time at which only the proteins may be selectively removed from thegreen tea residue. When the temperature and time are less than theseranges, a desired level of the proteins may not be removed. On the otherhand, when the temperature and time are greater than these ranges, theactive ingredients included in the green tea may be denatured.

In the step (a3), the alkali extract obtained in the step (a2) may besubjected to solid-liquid separation to remove an alkali extractsolution, and an acid may be then added to the remaining solid alkaliextract to neutralize the solid alkali extract.

The solid alkali extract may be washed with water, and then neutralized.

The neutralization may be performed by adding an acid to the solidalkali extract so that the solid alkali extract can be neutralized to pH7. The acid may include one or more selected from the group consistingof acetic acid, L-glutamic acid, lactic acid, hydrochloric acid, malicacid, succinic acid, citric acid, ethylenediamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetraaceticacid (EDTA: edetic acid), EDTA₂Na, EDTA₃Na, and EDTA₄Na. Preferably, theacid may be acetic acid. Also, the acid may be an aqueous solution of0.1 to 1 M acid in consideration of the efficient neutralization of thesolid alkali extract.

In the step (a4), the extract neutralized in the step (a3) may besubjected to solid-liquid separation to remove an extract solution, andthe solid extract may be then washed. In this case, the solution to beremoved may be an acid solution used during the neutralization, and maybe washed with water.

In the step (a5), the solid extract obtained after the step (a4) may bedried and pulverized to prepare processed green tea.

The processed green tea may be green tea from which catechin, the water-soluble substances and the proteins may be sequentially removed by meansof the step (a), which includes the steps (a1) to (a5), so that thecontent of the insoluble dietary fibers can be adjusted to 60% by weightor more, and may be in the form of powder. Preferably, the dietaryfibers may be insoluble dietary fibers. In particular, the content ofthe insoluble dietary fibers may be adjusted in the step (a2).

In the present invention, the step (b) includes mixing the processedgreen tea prepared in the step (a), which has an insoluble dietary fibercontent of 70% by weight or more; and a sugar alcohol and subjecting theresulting mixture to extrusion molding to prepare a granularcomposition. Specifically, the step (b) includes a process furtherdivided into the following steps (b1) to (b3):

(b1) pulverizing the processed green tea and the sugar alcohol to form apowder raw material having a size of 80 meshes or less;

(b2) adding a binding solution to the powder raw material so that thebinding solution is mixed with the powder raw material; and

(b3) subjecting the mixture obtained in the step (b2) to extrusionmolding to form granules.

In the step (b1), the processed green tea and the sugar alcohol may bepulverized to form a powder raw material having a size of 80 meshes orless.

The weights and types of the processed green tea and the sugar alcoholare as described above.

The size of the powder raw material may be less than or equal to 80meshes, preferably 75 meshes, and more preferably 70 meshes, and may begreater than at least 0 meshes. When the size of the powder raw materialis greater than this size range, a mixing process (b2) and an extrusionmolding process (b3) as will be described below may not be performedsmoothly.

In this case, the processed green tea and the sugar alcohol may bepulverized together with the additives as described above, for example,according to the present invention, one or more selected from the groupconsisting of a natural carbohydrate, a sweetening agent, nutrients,vitamins, minerals (electrolytes), a flavoring agent (a syntheticflavoring agent, a natural flavoring agent, and the like), a coloringagent, a filler (cheese, chocolate, and the like), pectic acid and saltsthereof, alginic acid and salts thereof, organic acid, a protectivecolloidal thickening agent, a pH control agent, a stabilizing agent, apreservative, an antioxidant, glycerin, an alcohol, a carbonizing agent,and a flesh in order to form a powder raw material.

In the step (b2), a binding solution may be added to the powder rawmaterial so that the binding solution can be mixed with the powder rawmaterial.

The binding solution may include one or more selected from the groupconsisting of purified water, spirits, and hydrocolloids. In this case,the binding solution may be added at a content of 0.5 to 100 parts byweight, and preferably 50 to 70 parts by weight, based on 100 parts byweight of the powder raw material, so that the binding solution can bemixed with the powder raw material. When the content of the bindingsolution is either less than or greater than this content range, amixture having a level of viscosity to perform an extrusion moldingprocess may not be prepared.

Also, the mixing time may be in a range of 10 to 60 minutes, preferably10 to 45 minutes, and more preferably 10 to 30 minutes. When the mixingtime is less than this range, a uniform mixture may not be formed. Onthe other hand, when the mixing time is greater than this range, thereis no benefit arising from an increase in the mixing time.

In the step (b3), the mixture obtained in the step (b2) may be subjectedto extrusion molding to form granules.

The size of the granules formed after the extrusion molding is the sameas the size of the granular composition, as described above.

Further, the granular composition may be dried and sized. In this case,the drying time may be in a range of 20 to 60 minutes so that thegranular composition can be dried to the extent suitable for itsdistribution, storage, digestion, and absorption.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention are providedto aid in understanding the present invention. However, it should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that the detailed descriptiondisclosed herein is given by way of illustration of the presentinvention only, and thus various changes and modification may be madewithout departing from the sprite and scope of the present invention.Also, it will be apparent that such changes and modifications fallwithin the appended claims.

Example 1

Based on the compositions as listed in the Table 1 below, a granularcomposition was prepared using the following method.

(a) Preparation of Processed Green Tea

100 g of green tea leaves was primarily extracted with 1,500 g of 70%spirits at 70° C. for an hour, and then secondarily extracted with 1,500g of purified water at 90° C. for 3 hours.

70 g of the green tea residue remaining after the primary and secondaryextractions was immersed and extracted in 490 g of an aqueous solutionof 0.2 M sodium hydroxide at 90° C. for 2 hours to obtain an alkaliextract.

The alkali extract was subjected to solid-liquid separation to remove analkali extract solution, and the remaining solid alkali extract was thenwashed with drinking water to remove the residual alkali. 210 g of anaqueous solution of 0.2 M acetic acid was added to 30 g of the solidalkali extract to neutralize the solid alkali extract.

The neutralized extract was subjected to solid-liquid separation toremove an extract solution, and the remaining solid extract was thenwashed with drinking water to remove the residual acid.

Next, the solid extract was dried and pulverized to prepare processedgreen tea.

(b) Preparation of Granules

The processed green tea and a sugar alcohol were mixed, and theresulting mixture was pulverized to prepare a powder raw material havinga size of 70 meshes.

As the binding solution, purified water was added to the powder rawmaterial, and mixed for 20 minutes using a high-shear mixer (NARA) toprepare a mixture. Specifically, the mixture was prepared by adding 4parts by weight of the purified water to 100 parts by weight of thepowder raw material.

The mixture was put into an extrusion molding machine (Dalton) toprepare a molded product having a granular shape with a size of about 1mm.

The molded product having a granular shape was dried at room temperaturefor 30 minutes, and put into a sizing machine (SEOWON ENG Inc.) so as touniformly size the molded product into the granule size, therebypreparing a granular composition.

TABLE 1 Content of dietary fibers Sugar alcohol (% in granularcomposition Processed green tea (% by weight) by weight) (% by weight)Example 1 Insoluble dietary fiber 60 Xylitol 40 57 content: 95% byweight Example 2 Insoluble dietary fiber 60 Erythritol 40 57 content:95% by weight Example 3 Insoluble dietary fiber 60 Xylitol 20 57content: 95% by weight Erythritol 20 Comparative Crude green tea feed(total 60 Xylitol 40 18 Example 1 dietary fiber content: 30% by weight)Comparative Water-soluble dietary fiber 60 Xylitol 40 57 Example 2content: 95% by weight Comparative Insoluble dietary fiber 100 — — 95Example 3 content: 95% by weight

Example 2

A granular composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1,except that erythritol was used as the sugar alcohol instead of thexylitol.

Example 3

A granular composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1,except that xylitol and erythritol were used together as the sugaralcohol instead of the xylitol.

Comparative Example 1

A granular composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1,except that a crude green tea feed having a water-soluble dietary fibercontent of 30% by weight was used instead of the processed green tea.

Comparative Example 2

A granular composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1,except that indigestible maltodextrin (Rocket Corp. Ltd.) having awater-soluble dietary fiber content of 95% by weight or more was usedinstead of the processed green tea having an insoluble dietary fibercontent of 95% by weight.

Comparative Example 3

A granular composition was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1,except that only the processed green tea having an insoluble dietaryfiber content of 95% by weight was used without using the sugar alcohol.

Experimental Example 1

It was determined whether or not the granules were formed for Examplesand Comparative Examples. When the granules were formed, the contents ofthe dietary fibers included in the granular composition were measured,as follows. The results are listed in Table 3 below.

(1) Formation of Granules

The resulting products prepared in Examples and Comparative Exampleswere observed with the naked eye to determine whether or not thegranules were formed.

(2) Measurement of Dietary Fiber Content

Two dry samples were prepared, and then sequentially digested withheat-resistant α-amylase, protease, amyloglucosidase enzymes to removestarch and proteins. In this case, a food containing 10% or more of fatswas tested after the fats were removed prior to drying.

Total dietary fibers (TDFs) were quantified by treating dietary fibersdissolved in an enzymatic degradation product with ethanol toprecipitate the dietary fibers, filtering the dietary fibers, washingthe dietary fibers with ethanol and acetone, and drying the dietaryfibers to weigh the dietary fibers.

Insoluble dietary fibers (IDFs) were quantified by filtering anenzymatic degradation product, washing the residue with warm water, andweighing the residue.

Water-soluble dietary fibers (SDFs) were quantified by combining afiltrate and a wash solution obtained during pretreatment of IDFs,precipitating the resulting mixture with ethanol, and filtering, dryingand weighing the mixture. Amounts of the proteins and batches werecalibrated with respect to the weight of the residue by calculating thecontents of the total dietary fibers and the insoluble and water-solubledietary fibers.

(3) Sensory Evaluation

A panel of 20 well-strained volunteers participated in a sensoryevaluation for a degree of sticking to teeth and a bitter taste. Thevolunteers ingested 1 g of each of the resulting products of Examplesand Comparative Examples, and evaluated the degree of sticking to teethand bitter taste using a 7-point scale method, as follows. In this case,the lower scores mean the lower degree of sticking to teeth and the lessbitter taste.

(4) Flowability

An angle of a conical pile formed while a granular powder is falling ina vertical direction is referred to as an angle of repose. Theflowability of the granular powder may be determined based on the angleof repose. The measurements were made using an angle-of-repose measuringmachine. A funnel for testing an angle of repose was installed so thatthe end of the funnel is positioned at a height of 7.5 cm from thebottom of a round base plate, and a shutter of the tester funnel wasthen closed. 100 g of a test sample was put into a tester funnel fortesting an angle of repose, and the shutter was opened to allow powderto flow out of the tester funnel. When a conical pile was formed on theround base plate, a height of the conical pile was measured using aheight gauge. The angle of repose was measured using Equation 1 below.

Tan (Angle of Repose:θ°)=h/r

Angle of Repose (θ°)=actan (h/r)   <Equation 1>

h: Height of piled powder

r: Radius of a base plate

The criteria for evaluation of flowability according to the measuredangle of repose are as listed in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 Angle of repose(θ°) Flowability 25 to 30 Very good 31 to 35 Good36 to 40 Mean 41 to 45 Little bad 46 to 55 Bad 56 to 65 Very bad 66 ormore Very very bad

TABLE 3 Dietary fiber content in Sensory evaluation Granules granularDegree of formed composition sticking to Bitter Flow- or not (% byweight) teeth state ability Example 1 Formed 57 1.2 1.1 Good Example 2Formed 57 1.1 1.0 Good Example 3 Formed 57 1.2 1.2 Good ComparativeFormed 18 4.5 6.1 Good Example 1 Comparative Not 57 6.6 1.1 Very Example2 formed very bad Comparative Not 95 3.2 3.4 Very Example 3 formed verybad

FIG. 1 shows an image (left panel) of a granular composition of Example2 during extrusion molding and an image (right panel) of theextrusion-molded granular composition; and FIG. 2 shows an image (leftpanel) of a granular composition of Comparative Example 2 duringextrusion molding and an image (right panel) of the extrusion-moldedgranular composition.

Referring to Table 3 and FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the granuleshaving a dietary fiber content of 50% by weight or more were notprepared using the crude green tea feed and the water-soluble dietaryfibers, but the granules having a dietary fiber content of 50% by weightor more were prepared using only the processed green tea having aninsoluble dietary fiber content of 90% or more.

Also, it was confirmed that the granular composition was subjected toextrusion molding to form the granules only when the granularcomposition included the sugar alcohol (such as xylitol, erythritol) aswell as the processed green tea having an insoluble dietary fibercontent of 90% or more.

When the granules were formed, the granular composition hadsignificantly improved degree of sticking to teeth, bitter taste, andflowability, compared to when the granules were not formed, which makesit possible to expect to develop articles having superior preference andexcellent convenience in eating and easy packaging.

The granular composition according to the present invention has littlescattered dust due to the good flowability, is not stuck to teeth duringthe food intake, has an improved choking phenomenon, and is favorablefor manufacturing articles due to the good filling properties.

Also, because the processed green tea included in the granularcomposition is prepared so that the content of the insoluble dietaryfibers is greater than or equal to 70% by weight, the granules can beformed without lumping due to such insoluble dietary fibers.

Further, the processed green tea can be prepared by means of anextraction process, using green tea as the raw material, so that thecontent of the insoluble dietary fibers is greater than or equal to 70%by weight, thereby suggesting a new plan to make use of green tea and anew technique for processing green tea.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A granular composition comprising processed greentea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of 70% by weight or more;and a sugar alcohol.
 2. The granular composition of claim 1, wherein thecontent of insoluble dietary fibers included in the processed green teais greater than or equal to 90% by weight.
 3. The granular compositionof claim 1, wherein the granular composition comprises 50 to 85% byweight of the processed green tea and 15 to 85% by weight of the sugaralcohol.
 4. The granular composition of claim 1, wherein the sugaralcohol comprises one or more selected from the group consisting ofxylitol, erythritol, isomalt, maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol, lactitol,and mannitol.
 5. The granular composition of claim 1, wherein thegranular composition has a particle size of 0.5 to 2 mm.
 6. A method forpreparing a granular composition, the method comprising: (a)sequentially extracting green tea with spirits and purified water toprepare processed green tea having an insoluble dietary fiber content of70% by weight or more; and (b) mixing the processed green tea and asugar alcohol and then extrusion-molding the resulting mixture.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the step (a) comprises the following steps(a1) to (a5): (a1) primarily extracting the green tea with spirits andsecondarily extracting the green tea with purified water; (a2)extracting a green tea residue remaining after the primary and secondaryextractions in the step (a1) with an alkali; (a3) subjecting the alkaliextract obtained in the step (a2) to solid-liquid separation to removean alkali extract solution and adding an acid to the remaining solidalkali extract to neutralize the solid alkali extract; and (a4)subjecting the acid extract neutralized in the step (a3) to solid-liquidseparation to remove an acid extract solution and washing the remainingsolid acid extract; and (a5) drying and pulverizing the solid extractobtained after the step (a4) to prepare processed green tea.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the step (b) comprises the following steps(b1) to (b3): (b1) pulverizing the processed green tea and the sugaralcohol to form a powder raw material having a size of 80 meshes orless; (b2) adding a binding solution to the powder raw material so thatthe binding solution is mixed with the powder raw material; and (b3)subjecting the mixture obtained in the step (b2) to extrusion molding toform granules.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the binding solutioncomprises one or more selected from the group consisting of purifiedwater, spirits, and hydrocolloids.